I just took up knitting as a cheap hobby while I'm out here at college. I bought some needles and yarn yesterday and I've been teaching myself last night and tonight from Youtube videos. So far I've just been practicing making little squares using the knit stitch.

But I keep doing this (this is a picture I just took of what I'm doing):

Notice how the 2nd and 3rd stitches from the top of the needle are crossed? That happens to me all the time! Why does it happen, and how can I fix it? From the pictures and videos I've seen, all the stitches should be even and uniform. Those are #8 needles and worsted acrylic yarn from Walmart.

Welcome to Knitting Help! Good for you! Knitting is a great hobby and perfect those times when you need to unwind or take a creative break! I had to laugh a bit when I read "knitting as a cheap hobby" though. I just bought some yarn tonight for socks and it was $35. BUT, it can be a lot cheaper if you need it to be.

I suspect I know what's going on... see that cross part on the stitch that is on the outside.. if you slip it off the needle it will probably be correct. It's easy especially when you're learning to not fully take the stitch off when you knit. Slip the stitch next to it on to the other needle for a minute and fix the crossed one. Then put the stitch back on the needle and knit on. Let us know if that worked.

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Jan

When asking questions ALWAYS post the name and a link for the pattern if you have it.

Welcome to the wonderful world of knitting and KH! I hate to tell you this, but knitting isn't cheap--especially since your goal is to a) buy yarn, b) use it up in your project, and c) repeat the entire process an infinite number of times.

Of course, you can do what I often do: Reuse the same yarn over and over and over and over and over again because I'm not happy with how my projects are coming along. Now that requires a lot less money (but your yarn starts getting warn out eventually).

Yeah, I agree with Jan--you're accidentally picking up part of the other stitch when you pull the working yarn through it. I bet if you look closely, you'll see that the fabric you've created is very tight in those places because you essentially have two rows knit together.

Not to mention you can find coupons to Joann/Michaels/Hobby Lobby/ AC Moore all over. While they're only good for one item, that helps cut the cost on needles, and you may only need one larger skein for a scarf, or a small one for a hat. Thrift stores often have a crafts section with yarns and needles, sometimes several of the same yarn even. Senior Citizen's thrifts often have better prices; mine sells skeins for about 50 cents, wound balls and partial skeins for a quarter.

Whoa, I didn't expect so many responses so quickly. Thanks for the input everybody. Jan in CA's help did the trick for me. I was able to slip it back off onto the other needle and fix it.

Here's how that square turned out (don't laugh!)

I'm proud of myself for making it this far. While I have your attention, what can I do to keep the bottom row of stitches from looking so ugly? That's the row that I cast-on. I used the long-tail method. Did I not pull it tight enough? You can see the spacing between the stitches is really uneven.

Also, I may have used a poor choice of words when I called knitting "cheap". I don't mean to offend anybody or imply that this is a cheap hobby. But compared to my other hobbies of backpacking ($300 pack, $400 tent, $200 boots, $200 sleeping bag, etc all of which wear out and need replaced) and motorcycles (don't even get me started), knitting certainly is *less expensive*.

Don't pull the yarn too tight when you cast on, just try to leave the same distance between all the stitches, maybe about a yarn width. That will come with practice, the rest of it looks quite good for a first time piece.

That's a great start! I know how you feel about quick responses, but that's what happens here. This is a great forum and you get all kinds of help. Welcome the wonderful, weird, nutty world of knitting! and to KH! Have fun.

Oh, the best tip I ever got and hate the most is: Practice, practice, practice, it all improves with practice.